Foundations in Materials Science for the Professional Engineer

Catalog description

Materials science is ubiquitous. All modern industry is highly dependent on materials whose properties can be controlled or engineered to accommodate a wide range of applications. The multidisciplinary field of materials science and engineering outlines approaches to enhance the manipulation of existing materials and synthesis of new materials. Further, the study of materials science and engineering provides the basis for understanding material properties with respect to chemistry and atomic structure and specifically the ability to tailor chemistry and structure in order to bring about specific properties (materials by design). Finally, an understanding of materials from a structure-processing-properties point of view allows for troubleshooting of modern manufacturing with respect to materials outcomes. Students will investigate why particular materials perform with specific properties while other materials do not. Students will then investigate how materials can be manipulated to perform actions that are typically not expected from a particular material. The previous two investigations will then allow students to begin to create materials by design to serve in specific industrial and environmental settings. All of these actions will be supported by the student's acquired knowledge of the role of fundamental chemistry, physics and math in describing, measuring, and predicting materials performance.